Three candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani – Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander – won races in solidly Democratic New York districts. All three had secured their party's nominations in June, defeating candidates backed by the Democratic establishment.
Lander, a Jewish politician and former New York City comptroller, defeated incumbent Dan Goldman. Valdez, a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member serving in the New York State Assembly, won the nomination to succeed retiring congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. Chevalier, an anti-Zionist activist, narrowly defeated longtime incumbent Adriano Espaillat.
The victories exposed tensions within the Democratic Party, with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries having backed the incumbents against Mamdani's candidates. FOX 5 NY reported that the endorsements had become a key storyline in New York's congressional primaries.
All three newcomers support halting military aid to Israel, although they differ on Zionism and the conditions for resuming assistance.
Chevalier drew criticism for attending a Times Square rally on October 8, 2023, where participants supported Hamas's attack and mocked the number of Israelis killed. She defended her attendance, saying she feared an Israeli response that would cost thousands of lives.
Valdez accuses Israel of "genocide" and calls for ending all arms sales and military aid. Rejecting any distinction between offensive weapons and defensive Iron Dome funding, she said: "All aid must be canceled, period."
Lander describes himself as a "liberal Zionist" but opposes even Iron Dome funding under current conditions. In October, security forces detained him during an olive harvest with Israeli and American activists in Nahalin, near Beitar Illit. He later accused Israel of "state-sponsored ethnic cleansing."
The shift extends beyond New York. In New Jersey, voters elected Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who volunteered in Gaza and supports an arms embargo and an end to military aid. He accuses Israel of "genocide" and "apartheid" and backs the Palestinian "right of return."
Michigan elected Donavan McKinney, who has pledged to end military aid and arms transfers to Israel. Philadelphia elected DSA member Chris Rabb, whose campaign made criticism of Israel and AIPAC central to its message. His Instagram account shared a post promoting a conspiracy theory that "Zionists" were behind the massacre of Jews at Bondi Beach in Australia. His campaign blamed a former employee and said Rabb condemns antisemitism.
Denver elected Melat Kiros, 29, who opposes US aid to Israel and refused to describe the June 2025 Boulder attack on a hostage march as antisemitic. Longtime anti-Israel lawmakers Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Summer Lee were also reelected.
DSA members won five House seats, joining Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib. The organization supports the boycott movement and requires candidates to back it and avoid contact with the Israeli government and "Zionist lobbies."
The shift is also evident in the Senate. Maine elected Democrat Troy Jackson, who called Israel's actions in Gaza "genocide," described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal and campaigned on the demand: "No American tax dollars for Israel's military." He later apologized for saying some Maine residents avoided the term genocide "only because they are Jewish."
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan also won. She accused Israel of "genocide," called her primary opponent "the AIPAC candidate" and opposed additional military aid under Netanyahu. However, she supports Iron Dome funding and a two-state solution.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton. He called for conditioning aid to Israel on policy changes but supports Iron Dome and a two-state solution that includes Hamas' disarmament. He has refrained from calling the Gaza war "genocide."
Michigan hosted the race that mattered most from Israel's perspective. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers, becoming the first Muslim senator in US history. El-Sayed accuses Israel of "genocide" and "apartheid," calls Netanyahu a war criminal and compares the Israeli government to Hamas: "Hamas is evil. The Israeli government is evil. You can say both."
Asked about Israel's right to exist, he replied, "Israel exists, but it has no right to my tax dollars." In an interview with ABC, he said, "An ally that takes your money to push you into wars you shouldn't fight is not an ally."
Despite the shift among Democratic politicians, Jewish voters remained largely Democratic. NBC exit polls showed 67% backed Democrats in House races, compared with 32% for Republicans. In Michigan, a Jewish early-voter survey found that 57% backed El-Sayed, compared with 78% for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
The results reflect a broader shift in the party. In April, 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted for a Bernie Sanders resolution to block military bulldozer sales to Israel, while 36 backed blocking bomb sales. Both measures failed, but support for such restrictions has grown from 15 Democratic senators in April 2025 to 27 in July 2025.
